Thousands plan to march in protest when the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, visits Australia this week. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said he would be there to comfort Jewish Australians.
Look, I understand that this visit is contentious and it will invite a range of views, and some of those views will be strongly held. But this is about grieving with the families and loved ones of the souls that were thieved on Bondi beach. So I hope any protests that take place are peaceful and lawful when he’s here in Australia.
Updated at 18.06 EST
Key events
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
How the Mardi Gras party ended
Photograph: Roni Bintang/Getty Images
Josh Taylor has taken a forensic (and colourful) look at the machinations behind the scenes at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, which announced its “heartbreaking” decision to can the official after party last week:
Updated at 18.15 EST
Endangered birds take flight
Seventeen tiny captive-bred Mallee emu-wrens have been released in the wild, Zoos SA says. It’s the first time the endangered bird – which weighs between four and six grams – has been bred and released.
A Mallee Emu-wren. Photograph: Jeremy Edwards/Getty Images
Monarto Safari Park assistant curator Tom Hurley said:
We’ve gone from not even knowing if we could keep them alive in human care, to seeing them breed successfully, and now, watching them take flight back into the wild. It’s an incredibly proud moment.
These birds are tiny, but they represent a huge win for conservation. To now see them flitting through spinifex in the mallee is just magic.
Updated at 18.17 EST
Heavy rain and severe flash flooding expected in WA
AAP reports that category three tropical Cyclone Mitchell could bring wind gusts of up to 205 km/h, and that residents from Whim Creek to Onslow have been told it is too late to leave, and to seek shelter indoors immediately.
On Saturday, Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Angus Hines said:
Damaging to destructive winds are expected to ramp up in the next 24 hours.
Those winds are strong enough to bring down big branches or entire trees, damage property, and lead to power outages.
An evacuation centre has been set up at Karratha Leisureplex, and one is being opened further south at the Onslow Multi Purpose Centre, AAP reports.
Authorities warn the central and west Pilbara coast faces the risk of flash flooding throughout the weekend, with the west Gascoyne region also expected to be affected by Monday.
Abnormally high tides will also present a serious flood risk for the Karratha region in the early hours of Sunday and towards Onslow Sunday afternoon.
Updated at 17.57 EST
Herzog visit a slap in the face
Here’s some more on that upcoming visit from the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog – the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, invited him to Australia in the wake of the Bondi terror attack:
Updated at 17.53 EST
Coalition, One Nation chatter a ‘three-ring circus’
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, used the term “three-way”, but the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, (thankfully) went “three-ring” describing the palaver with the opposition(s).
I [don’t] think these endless cycles of bust-ups and patch-ups are fooling anybody. No amount of fake smiles for the cameras today can cover up for the fact that the right of politics in Australia is now a three-ring circus.
It’s a three-ring circus of petty, personal and internal rivalries, and I think anyone who thinks that this is the end of it is kidding themselves.
Updated at 17.39 EST
Visit by Israeli president ‘contentious’, says Jim Chalmers
Thousands plan to march in protest when the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, visits Australia this week. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said he would be there to comfort Jewish Australians.
Look, I understand that this visit is contentious and it will invite a range of views, and some of those views will be strongly held. But this is about grieving with the families and loved ones of the souls that were thieved on Bondi beach. So I hope any protests that take place are peaceful and lawful when he’s here in Australia.
Updated at 18.06 EST
We are cracking down on hate speech, treasurer says
Asked about anger that not enough has been done to tackle racism against First Nations people in the wake of the Invasion Day terror attack, Jim Chalmers says:
I think it’s a reminder that terrorism and hate speech takes a number of forms and the response from state and federal police and Asio to that outrageous act of terrorism in WA was swift, but we do understand that people are edgy and for good reason right now.
We have got a big agenda when it comes to cracking down on hate speech, cracking down on terrorism, but we know that the nature of that evolves over time and so will our response.
Updated at 17.31 EST
Treasurer pressed on capital gains tax as data shows benefits flow to wealthiest
Insiders host David Speers is quizzing the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, on capital gains tax – official figures show the top 1% of taxpayers will receive nearly 60% of the benefit this financial year. Chalmers said:
When we consider next steps in tax reform, obviously, issues around intergenerational equity are front and centre … I know that there are intergenerational issues in housing and in tax. We have got a big agenda to deal with those issues already.
Updated at 17.51 EST
Super changes to be introduced this week
Jim Chalmers says he’ll introduce the super bill this week. He said:
I’m looking to introduce the better target superannuation concessions bill on Wednesday if I can, certainly this week, and that bill is all about making the superannuation system fairer from top to bottom.
Updated at 17.29 EST
Treasurer drops some budget teasers
Chalmers has hinted at more tax reforms in the upcoming budget and says, generally, the economy is “performing relatively well”.
He said:
We’ve got stronger growth and lower unemployment than almost all of the major advanced economies. We’ve got lower debt and stronger jobs growth than all of them.
He’s outlined the three big challenges – productivity, global uncertainty and inflation.
He also said there’ll be a productivity package and a savings package in the budget.
Updated at 17.36 EST
Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Insiders
Who is to blame for inflation?
The eternal economic question. Jim Chalmers is being quizzed about it on Insiders, after the official cash rate was hiked on Tuesday. It’s public demand, the treasurer says.
Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Darren England/AAP
He says public demand is slowing and making a “negative contribution” to inflation, but private demand was up.
The Reserve Bank governor actually pointed out that public demand retreated quicker than they were anticipating.
The reason why we had inflation tick up higher than we’d like in the second half of the year was the acceleration in private demand, the end of the state-based energy rebates, some more persistent pressures in housing, and in other areas as well.
Updated at 18.01 EST
Coalition to reunite
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Coalition is on the brink of a reunion with Sussan Ley poised to accept a deal from David Littleproud to rejoin the Nationals.
A senior Liberal source confirmed to Guardian Australia that the opposition leader would announce the peace deal on Sunday, reforming the Coalition less than three weeks after its second split in eight months.
The source said the Liberals and Nationals will agree to reunite immediately, but all of the former Nationals frontbenchers will be suspended from the shadow ministry until March.
The Liberals had proposed only banning the three Nationals senators who crossed the floor on Labor’s hate speech laws, but the country party’s MPs decided to cop the penalties collectively.
Littleproud and the Nationals deputy leader, Kevin Hogan, will still attend shadow cabinet and other senior leadership meetings while the suspensions are being served, even though neither will technically hold frontbench positions.
Ley and Littleproud held further talks on Saturday after the potential reunion appeared on the brink of collapse on Friday.
The Nationals had initially offered for their MPs to serve the short suspension but without immediately reforming the Coalition – a scenario the Liberals didn’t consider viable.
Updated at 17.18 EST
Death, hospitalisations during NSW festival
A man has died and six people hospitalised after medical episodes at Sydney’s Dreamstate festival.
NSW police said an investigation was under way. In a statement, it said officers were patrolling the event, and at about 11.30 on Saturday night, a number of patrons “suffered medical episodes”:
A man – aged in his 40s – died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified.
Six other people were taken to hospital where one remains in a critical condition.
A crime scene has been established, and police commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
A report will be prepared for the information of the coroner.
Updated at 17.14 EST
The wild and wonderful people of Melbourne
Photograph: Hussein Abdirahman Mohamud/Centre for Contemporary Photography / Perimeter Editions
If you fancy a little palate cleanser before we dive into Insiders and interest rates, please enjoy this gallery of Melbourne’s wild and wonderful people by Hussein Abdirahman Mohamud:
Updated at 17.22 EST
Severe tropical Cyclone Mitchell set to hit WA
North-west Western Australia is bracing for severe tropical Cyclone Mitchell, which could make landfall this evening.
It has been upgraded to a category 2, and offshore islands have seen winds up to 169 km/h.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology:
Severe tropical Cyclone Mitchell is expected to maintain its strength, moving closer to Onslow during this afternoon. Damaging to locally destructive wind gusts remain likely, with heavy falls and high tides in the vicinity of the system.
At this stage, the Mitchell is forecast to remain over water as it tracks between Onslow and Exmouth, with possible landfall over the southern Exmouth Gulf coast on Sunday evening.
ShareIllegal ebikes to be crushed
After a swarm of ebikes and emotorcycles caused peak-hour chaos in Sydney, the federal government declared them a menace.
Today, the NSW government said it will seize and crush illegal ebikes-slash-motorbikes.
In a statement, it says it “is determined to remove illegal electric motorbikes masquerading as ebikes from NSW roads and paths, and is giving NSW Police expanded powers to do so”. It will also look at ways to measure the bikes’ power output.
The transport minister, John Graham, said:
We’ve heard loud and clear the concern in the community about souped-up ebikes and the anti-social behaviour that seems to go hand in hand with them.
Riders and owners of illegal ebikes should now hear us loud and clear: If you are breaking the rules, and your bike does not meet the very clear specifications of a pedal-assisted ebike, expect it to be removed from your possession and crushed.
Updated at 17.29 EST
Good morning, and welcome to your Sunday
The news is seriously newsing; we’re going to find out what’s going on with the de-coalesced Coalition, and treasurer Jim Chalmers is coming up on Insiders.
Also making news is the NSW government’s plan to seize and crush illegal ebikes, and Tropical Cyclone Mitchell has strengthened to a category three storm as it nears the Western Australia coast.
There are a bunch of great reads up on the site already, I’ll send out a few nudges during the morning – but let’s start with Zoe Daniel’s piece on the One Nation nightmare in the making:
Updated at 16.45 EST